Lady Vols fire head coach Kellie Harper after five seasons - ESPN

Tennessee parted ways with coach Kellie Harper on Monday after five seasons, opting to make a change to try and reinvigorate a program that has not played for a national championship since the late Pat Summitt retired.

Harper, who played under Summitt, could never quite get the program back to an elite level. Though she won 20 or more games four times, Tennessee never advanced past the Sweet 16.

«After a thorough review of our women's basketball program, I have informed Kellie we are making a change in leadership,» Tennessee athletics director Danny White said in a statement. «Decisions like these are never easy to make, especially with someone who has done so much for the Lady Vols as a three-time national champion student-athlete. Her love and passion for Tennessee and the Lady Vols is second to none. She has invested so much heart and soul into our program and truly has given her all for Tennessee. I thank Kellie for her stewardship of our women's basketball program and wish her and Jon well in the next chapter of their lives.»

This past season, with projected WNBA first-round pick Rickea Jackson, Tennessee struggled to play consistently and lost in the NCAA tournament second round as a No. 6 seed to NC State — finishing 20-13.

The Lady Vols came seconds away from upsetting South Carolina in the SEC tournament last month — as Kamilla Cardoso banked a shot home at the buzzer to lift the Gamecocks. Harper bent over with her hands on her knees, a look of agony on her face, as she tried to hold back the tears.

Tennessee has not won the conference since sharing the regular-season title with South Carolina in 2015. Its last SEC tournament title came in 2014, an unofficial change of the guard. South Carolina has won seven of